To find colleges that are a good fit, you need to learn about the
factors that can influence your experience in and out of the
classroom. Develop your personal list of college search criteria
to find the best colleges for you.

A better search strategy will give you better results! Whether
you want information about colleges you think are a good fit, or
you want to find new colleges that are right for you, we have the
tips to get you started and the tools to finish the job

To find colleges that are a good fit, you need to learn about the factors that can influence your experience in and out of the classroom. Develop your personal list of college search criteria to find the best colleges for you.

A better search strategy will give you better results! Whether you want information about colleges you think are a good fit, or you want to find new colleges that are right for you, we have the tips to get you started and the tools to finish the job.

Expert
Advice

When you apply to college, planning and attention to detail really matter! Check out our advice on getting organized, how to make your college applications stand out, and what to do when decisions arrive.

When you apply to college, planning and attention to detail really matter! Check out our advice on getting organized, how to make your college applications stand out, and what to do when decisions arrive.

SCHOLARSHIP FINDER

Get money for college!

Find the scholarships that are looking for students like you  with your academic qualifications, interests, and other personal characteristics. To learn more about the scholarships in your results, view the CollegeData Scholarship Profiles. Find a scholarship you want to apply for? Save it to your Data Locker.

Find scholarships that match the eligibility criteria you enter for GPA, gender, residency, ethnicity/heritage, religion and area of study  some of the most common eligibility criteria. Add keywords to find scholarships with eligibility requirements in other areas. Click the for more information on each eligibility requirement and tips for best results.

Grade Point Average (GPA)

Gender

Residency

Select your state/area of legal residence, not where you expect to attend college.

Ethnicity/Heritage

Select all applicable ethnicities/heritages. If none are applicable, select "Other".

Religion

Select all applicable religions.

Location of College

Select up to three locations where you expect to attend college.

Area of Study

Select up to three areas of study.

Keyword

Enter a special talent, sport, honor/award you received, disability, career you plan to pursue, hobby, the county you live in, organization that you or other family members are affiliated with, company where you or other family members work, etc. For best results, search using the keywords alone as well as in combination with the other eligibility criteria.

Any word

Exact phrase

Your GPA is the average of the grades you earned in academic courses in high school. It is based on a system in which each A=4 points, B=3, C=2, D=1 and F=0. Your GPA may be above 4.00 if your high school awards "extra" grade points for honors and advanced placement courses; however, the maximum GPA you may enter in the Scholarship Finder is 4.00. If you don't know your GPA, you can calculate it: Determine the number of grade points for each course in which you received a grade, total the grade points, then divide by the number of courses.

Your results will include scholarships that require a GPA less than or equal to the GPA you entered AS WELL AS scholarships that do not have a GPA requirement but which match at least one of the other criteria you enter. If you do not enter a GPA, your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any GPA requirement.

For best results, provide your GPA.

Find scholarships that are available only to women or men.

Your results will include scholarships that require students to be the gender you selected AS WELL AS scholarships that are available to both men and women. If you do not enter your gender, your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any gender requirement.

For best results, provide your gender.

Find scholarships that require residency in a particular state/province. Residency is where you live, the state/province of which you are a legal resident. Don't select the state/province in which you expect to live after you enroll in college.

Your results will include scholarships that require students to live in the particular state/province you selected AS WELL AS scholarships that do not have a residency requirement but which match at least one of the other criteria you enter. If you do not enter your residency, your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any residency requirement.

For best results, provide your residency.

Find scholarships that require a particular ethnic background or heritage. The ethnicity/heritage select list includes the ethnicities and heritages specified by one or more scholarships in the Scholarship Finder database; it is not a comprehensive list of all ethnicities and heritages. Select all that are applicable to you.

Your results will include scholarships that require students to belong to one of the ethnicities/heritages you selected AS WELL AS scholarships that do not have a requirement related to ethnicity/heritage but which match at least one of the other criteria you enter. If you do not enter your ethnicity/heritage, your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any ethnicity/heritage requirement.

For best results, select all applicable ethnicities/heritages. Include broad and specific ethnicities/heritages that are relevant; for example, if you are Chinese, select Asian/Pacific Islander as well as Chinese.

Find scholarships that require affiliation with a particular religion. The religion select list includes the religions specified by one or more scholarships in the Scholarship Finder database; it is not a comprehensive list of all religions. Select all that are applicable to you.

Your results will include scholarships that require students to be affiliated with one of the religions you selected AS WELL AS scholarships that do not have a requirement related to religion but which match at least one of the other criteria you enter. If you do not enter your religion, your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any religion requirement.

For best results, select all applicable religions. Include broad and specific religions that are relevant; for example, if you are Presbyterian, select Christian as well as Presbyterian.

Find scholarships that available to students attending college in a particular state/province. You may select up to three states/provinces each time you search.

Your results will include scholarships that require students to attend college in at least one of the states/provinces you selected AS WELL AS scholarships that do not specify a college location but which match at least one of the other criteria you enter. If you do not enter a state/province, your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any requirement related to college location.

For best results, provide the states/provinces in which the colleges you hope to attend are located. If you are applying to colleges in more than three states/provinces, you will need to perform additional searches to include them. If you currently attend college, enter the state/province in which your college is located.

Find scholarships that require interest or study in a particular area. The area of study select list includes areas of study specified by one or more scholarships in the Scholarship Finder database; it is not a comprehensive list of all areas of study. The areas of study are ordered alphabetically by subject area; broader academic disciplines, such as arts or physical sciences, appear in all caps. The areas of study that fall within each discipline are listed following the discipline name. You may select up to three areas of study.

Your results will include scholarships that require students to pursue study in one or more of the areas selected AS WELL AS scholarships that do not have a requirement related to area of study but which match at least one of the other criteria you enter. If you do not enter an area of study your results will include all scholarships that match the other criteria you enter, regardless of any area of study requirement.

For best results, search using both broad and specific areas of study that are applicable to you. For example, if you plan to study marine biology, select natural sciences, biology and marine biology; if you are interested in accounting, select business/consumer services and accounting.

Use the keyword fields to search for scholarships with eligibility criteria in areas other than GPA, gender, residency, ethnicity/heritage, religion, location of college and area of study.

Enter the name of sports you play, activities you are involved in, any honors or awards you have earned, your county, any disability or medical condition you or other family members have, the career you plan to pursue or the occupation of other family members, companies at which you or other family members work, organizations you or other family members belong to, etc. Enter any personal attribute or characteristic that applies to you — there are many scholarships with unique and surprising eligibility requirements.

For best results, search using the keyword fields alone AS WELL AS in combination with other eligibility criteria.

Any word

When you enter a word in the "Any word" field, your results will include scholarships that contain the word you entered in their descriptions or titles AND ALSO match any other criteria you provided in the other areas (GPA, gender, residency, ethnicity/heritage, religion, location of college and area of study). If you enter more than one word in the "Any word" field, your results will include scholarships that contain AT LEAST ONE of the words you entered in the scholarship description or title AND ALSO match the other criteria you provided.

Enter only distinctive words; don't enter generic words such as scholarship, academics, association, company, etc. For example, if you enter 'National Forensics Scholarship', your results will include scholarships containing any of the three words. Your results will include scholarships that mention "National Forensics Scholarship" or just "forensics"; however, your results will ALSO include scholarships that mention the words "national" and "scholarship". Your results will be more targeted if you enter only the more distinctive word, "forensics." To search for scholarships offered by an organization with more than one word in its name, such as the "National Education Association" or "General Motors," use the "Exact phrase" keyword field.

Exact phrase

When you use the "Exact phrase" field, your results will include scholarships that contain the exact phrase you entered in their descriptions or titles AND ALSO match any other criteria you provided in the other areas (GPA, gender, residency, ethnicity/heritage, religion, location of college and area of study).

If you complete both the "Any word" and "Exact phrase" fields, your results will include scholarships that contain AT LEAST ONE of the "Any word" keywords OR the complete "Exact phrase" text in the scholarship description or title AND ALSO match the other criteria you provided.

If you select criteria in the other areas and use either keyword field, your results may include ONLY scholarships that match the keyword(s) if there are no scholarships that match on the other criteria as well as the keyword(s).

Ways to earn COLLEGEdata Dollars:

Complete your Admissions Profile.

Add colleges to your College Choices.

Update your Admissions Statuses.

Use the College Match tool.

What are COLLEGEdata Dollars (CD$)?

COLLEGEdata Dollars (CD$) are points you earn by completing certain COLLEGEdata activities. The maximum number of CD$ you can redeem is 5000. Once you have earned at least 2500 CD$, you can redeem them for $25, which will be provided to you on a Loyalty Card, and once you earn another 2500 CD$, you can redeem those CD$ for a second $25, which will also be provided to you on a Loyalty Card.

Earn points and redeem them for U.S. Dollars

Complete certain COLLEGEdata activities (for example, signing up, starting your Admissions Profile, searching for colleges, calculating your chances for admission, searching for scholarships, updating your Profile with your admission decisions). Each activity is worth a specific amount of points (CD$). You can redeem the points you earn for U.S. Dollars that will be issued to you in the form of a 1st Financial Bank USA Loyalty Mastercard®.

How do I earn COLLEGEdata Dollars?

You can earn CD$ by completing certain COLLEGEdata activities. As soon as you sign up and activate your COLLEGEdata account, explore COLLEGEdata and begin completing COLLEGEdata activities to earn points.

Here is a full list of COLLEGEdata activities for which you may earn CD$ and the number of CD$ you can earn by completing each activity.*

Activity

CD$

* CD$ you earn will expire if your CD$ Program account is inactive. An account will be inactive if no CD$ are earned and no CD$ are redeemed in any 12 consecutive calendar month period.

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Congratulations!

+ CD$

You just earned COLLEGEdata Dollars!

Check your CD$ Dashboard at the bottom of the page to view your CD$ balance, find other activities that you can complete to earn CD$, and redeem the CD$ you have earned for U.S. Dollars.